tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post1208727283945138918..comments2023-09-08T12:08:39.523-04:00Comments on WBAI: Heart of what mind?Chris Albertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-16463937753945001352015-07-07T13:31:48.185-04:002015-07-07T13:31:48.185-04:00Looks like Dimele's buddies are going to be do...Looks like Dimele's buddies are going to be doing what Davis did with Knight in taking over a dead man's time slot(s). Eh, why the hell not, considering they have their own phone lines AND Dimele made money for the station. They should rename the show The Golden Age of Psychobabble.<br /><br />Seems the several times I passed by WBAI in the past few days I heard extendomercials almost every time. Let's remember there is an August beg-a-thon coming up, where we will hear yet the same extendomercials more often. You think they could come up with some new products, like Null's Organic Kitty Litter Stuff, Agua del Grifo (magical cure all), find some new free DVDs and sell burned copies to the remnants, etc.<br /><br />SDLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-85121713621062337732015-07-05T19:53:50.017-04:002015-07-05T19:53:50.017-04:00I'm familiar with that version of that fire st...I'm familiar with that version of that fire story. It may have been true. It may not. I do know for a fact that at least one incident was indeed freebasing gone wrong – it happens.<br /><br />~ 'indigo'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-28512611526047847862015-07-05T18:37:38.623-04:002015-07-05T18:37:38.623-04:00Jack Shugg was max Schmid's partner with the o...Jack Shugg was max Schmid's partner with the old time radio show and eventually had his own graveyard shift show. (Anyone remember Jack's "mystery lady" who hosted the show a couple of times? I believe it was Sharon Mitchel.). He was also involved in the porn industry, becoming the president of one the porn film critic organizations. He was fired bcause, without informing/asking permission of WBAI, he snuck in a porn film crew to shoot a scene in an unused studio. I agree he should have been, at least, punished. If there were a fire or injury from the shoot, I doubt insurance would have cobered an uninformed WBAI.<br /><br />I spoke to Paul Wunder not long after the fire in his apartment. Here is the story he told me. After "wining and dining" his girlfriend, they both fell asleep, forgetting to blow out the candles (I guess they only remembered blowing something else). Anyway, nearly his entire collection of records and tapes was destryed, including many one of a kind items. As for him, he had a bad case of smoke inhilation that nearly killed him. However, a good thing happened. See, back in those days there were some nice listeners, who sent him copies of their own copies of the one of a kind things they had recorded off his show. Hence, he was able to get some stuff back.<br /><br />SDLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-21894426970321102842015-07-05T18:19:05.906-04:002015-07-05T18:19:05.906-04:00Education? Please explain :)Education? Please explain :)Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-74760023612910687902015-07-05T18:17:01.028-04:002015-07-05T18:17:01.028-04:00Wow!! I bet Chris is getting an education here!Wow!! I bet Chris is getting an education here!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-61436219102915784092015-07-05T18:11:00.842-04:002015-07-05T18:11:00.842-04:00Twice, at least. Think Richard Pryor. The apartmen...Twice, at least. Think Richard Pryor. The apartment fire made the papers once, I think.<br /><br />~ 'indigo'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-8910223976801686802015-07-05T17:49:10.924-04:002015-07-05T17:49:10.924-04:00Setting himself on fire??? Never knew that! I did ...Setting himself on fire??? Never knew that! I did hear of the porno movie Paul Wunder was involved with @ the station along with Max Schmid and a producer named Jack Shugg. Filmed @ the station!!BTW, Donna Nieman knew a lot about Samori Marksman - she produced programs for Samori and engineered his situation at times too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-31326421827630165762015-07-05T17:06:02.540-04:002015-07-05T17:06:02.540-04:00@Sydney – For whom / for what department were you ...@Sydney – For whom / for what department were you doing these remotes? What equipment, given to you by whom?<br /><br />I can tell you that as a general rule folks who were outsiders and who did remotes were not taken seriously and were often treated dismissively. In that sense it was the same as phone volunteers. People who did phone volunteer work often thought they could use that as a point of entree. It didn’t work that way, though there were of course a few exceptions, and those exceptions were happily pointed to during fund raising as an indicator of how ‘open’ WBAI was. It was, of course, an insular society in many ways, which is what one would expect, I think.<br /><br />If there were no female engineers, technical people, or department heads under the enlightened revolutinary leadership of Samori Marksman, that would surprise me, but it would be an interesting irony.<br /><br />Paul Wunder, the original quote whore, was the only person I knew who would sit in a chair for hours happily browsing the PDR looking for interesting new drug combinations – quite a sight, really. I quite liked him. Setting himself on fire proved a bit of a drawback, though.<br /><br />~ ‘indigo’Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-25307260971360159102015-07-05T05:19:33.939-04:002015-07-05T05:19:33.939-04:00Got my fingers crossed (yup, I can still do that i...Got my fingers crossed (yup, I can still do that in my mid-eighties :)) re the voice job... I can so easily see you doing that.Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-19868707618331919382015-07-05T05:15:20.874-04:002015-07-05T05:15:20.874-04:00Yes,...the Pod-casting is on track. However as I t...Yes,...the Pod-casting is on track. However as I think I posted here it will be a bit later in the summer than I planned. My bleeped up health got in the way...no I ain't about to die or anything as some say. ...I don't think so anyway. Just the usual bullshit of being in my mid-sixties. I just got the equipment...most it that I need. Will be on-line late this month or early August. I'm going at my own speed on this so be patient. Thanks for your interest, and good natures to all. BTW I've been contacted to be the voice of a cartoon character in a series that's being developed. Other than that I can't say more till shit gets signed. Imagine someone wanting a broken down elderly engineer to entertain the kiddies. Stay Tuned.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914769586760504627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-80805171588653886712015-07-05T05:07:46.867-04:002015-07-05T05:07:46.867-04:00Your capacity for forgiveness is commendable, Sydn...Your capacity for forgiveness is commendable, Sydney, especially when one considers how you were treated by a station to which you gave such a huge chunk of your life.Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-49791098261306242912015-07-05T05:04:27.409-04:002015-07-05T05:04:27.409-04:00Thanks for the support,...but David was my good fr...Thanks for the support,...but David was my good friend for over 20 years. If he did serious foul shit I didn't know about it. I hope he didn't. If by chance he did...Forgive the Dead. People were very angry at Paul Williams for his behavior during his last year of life. Esp. as OPS Head. There were reasons...a drinking abuse problem, bad relationships, and the sudden death of his son. Yet when I spoke of him during my eulogy for Fred Kuhn. I said "...we may have been upset with him for a year, but he was our friend for the previous 20 years." This got a standing ovation. There's more forgiveness out there than we imagine.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914769586760504627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-15322106417842334372015-07-05T00:33:20.386-04:002015-07-05T00:33:20.386-04:00David Nolan? A real nasty dude - died of AIDS a fe...David Nolan? A real nasty dude - died of AIDS a few years ago. He was an engineer @ the station for years - again a real NASTY dude. Don't know why Sydney has such fond memories of him. People treated Sydney like SHIT and he is forgiving?Hope the station goes to HELL!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-56038148421782159932015-07-04T23:37:56.113-04:002015-07-04T23:37:56.113-04:00As always, Sydney, your input is highly valued. I ...As always, Sydney, your input is highly valued. I hope your health is improving and that podcast plans are on track. Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-42863180248803405482015-07-04T23:29:40.451-04:002015-07-04T23:29:40.451-04:00Faulty memory regards the department heads gigs......Faulty memory regards the department heads gigs...but that's how I remember it. ...maybe most being white made me confabulate the thing. The engineering situation was stone cold as I said. Indeed when I was a remote engineer in the mid-1970's I had bad experiences with that. They we happy for me to do the shit work of recording stuff, but that's all. The last time they wouldn't even let me in the station. They took the tapes, and equipment at the door..a "thank you",..and Slam! I didn't go back, and had no intention of 'ever' going back. Several years later David Wynyard had heard about my Queer Press, and what I was doing, and invited me onto the Gay Show. By being around I was there for when our freight elevator guy left, and I got the gig. Btw it was Paul Wunder that helped break the color thing in engineering by training myself, and several others into the fraternity. As for Robert being the first black engineer...ummm,..no. A look at the old folios would prove that. Though it's possible he really 'thought' he was...he did have a rather serious ego on'em. We used to joke with him about that. Which was as far as he could come to admitting it. The Station is still in my heart. I just dreamed about it again last night...I was with David Noland while he was doing his show. In this dream he played the "Fuck YOU!" punk song he always wanted to play. Maybe it was his Spirit saying hi to me. I like to think so. Also a point...like many of the characters spoken about here...Haskins, Kathy, and such. I was pals with them while there. That they've changed is a sorrow to me. However if I run into any of them on the street I'll greet them with the goodwill we once had. Stay Tuned.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914769586760504627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-8410308569751360292015-07-03T20:33:45.249-04:002015-07-03T20:33:45.249-04:00A Pacifica National Board Special Meeting was sche...A Pacifica National Board Special Meeting was scheduled for 8:30p ET yesterday on the kpftx.org calendar, but there was no stream and, thus far at least, no archive. Anyone happen to know if this was a false listing, a cancellation, or a Super Secret Double-Secret Executive Session?<br /><br />~ 'indigopirate'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-27786642074976396182015-07-03T19:14:01.582-04:002015-07-03T19:14:01.582-04:00It will be a brutal condemnation of this one by th...It will be a brutal condemnation of this one by that one, of these by those. It will be eminently insignificant.Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-40538688059624865382015-07-03T18:24:50.509-04:002015-07-03T18:24:50.509-04:00Tuned by We Broadcast At Idiots a few minutes ago ...Tuned by We Broadcast At Idiots a few minutes ago and heard a promo for a CAB "teach in" on why WBAI isn't getting CPB funding. It's August 2nd at The Atrium place, as usual. What I wonder is how a "teach in" about a radio network (in name only) not finishing proper tax papers every years could posibly consist of? I have a feeling it will be mainly factional propaganda of some sort.<br /><br />SDLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-77862420058746887762015-07-03T12:01:06.365-04:002015-07-03T12:01:06.365-04:00I think they all USE each other, Justine, and shou...I think they all USE each other, Justine, and should it personally benefit them, they would just as readily LOSE each other. As for being gullible? My guess is that she is selectively so, and her angry dismissal of Alton Maddox supporters is a case in point. The DH Water episode may have been a reflection of a more personal interest in Tony Bates, or just another I-need-to-keep-this-job misstep.<br /><br />Financial wizard Reimers is a special case.<br /><br />Happy Fourth to you and yours.Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-33660852471802024772015-07-03T09:34:32.877-04:002015-07-03T09:34:32.877-04:00Hmm...What I'm reading here makes me wonder wh...Hmm...What I'm reading here makes me wonder whether some of the opportunists and other knaves at the station are using Davis for something. She fills the bill: She is enough out of touch with reality to believe whatever folks like Robert Knight and Ron Daniels might tell her but has just enough presence of mind to be able to carry out parts of their schemes (e.g., selling Double Helix Water).<br /><br />Then again, the same might be said of Berthold Reimers.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-58532625766209680052015-07-02T20:39:34.033-04:002015-07-02T20:39:34.033-04:00Thanks for responding, Sydney, but there is a very...Thanks for responding, Sydney, but there is a very big difference between being hired to run a back elevator and being forced to use the back elevator for racist reason. Kathy very clearly infers that you were being discriminated against because of what you were. When distorting fact is convenient, that's what these opportunists do.<br /><br />Your "white boys club" reference tells me that WBAI must have regressed. Now, of course, there's what might be called a "hate whitey" club of irresponsible ignoramuses. This former radio station is a paint-by-the-number horror with small patches of black velvet and a few specks of glue-on mink. <br /><br />Now the Amino Sisters are back, aiming their acid tongues at leftover dummies. The train is at the station, the fat lady is on the platform, poised to sing her swan song. Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-7797564169421043632015-07-02T20:38:38.628-04:002015-07-02T20:38:38.628-04:00Short, quick list, from memory, by no means defini...Short, quick list, from memory, by no means definitive or exhaustive:<br /><br />Celeste Wesson – Director, Public Affairs; Director, News Department<br />Delores Costello – Coordinator, Black and Third World Programming<br />Margot Adler – Program Director; Head, Free Form Radio<br />Lindsay Ardwin – Chief Announcer<br />Margaret Mercer – Director of Operations<br /><br />~ ‘indigo’Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-7349318729216890082015-07-02T20:15:22.539-04:002015-07-02T20:15:22.539-04:00Ya know one 'can' actually "fumble ar...Ya know one 'can' actually "fumble around on the air", but professionally. I, and others had done it any number of times. "Fumbling" is an opportunity to be funny weird informative, and cutting...if done with timing humor context, and the constant knowledge that you are "on the Bleeping air!"<br /><br />Also WBAI was always, I mean always a mixed neighborhood which is how I managed to move in. That freight elevator job was a happy experience. Not only did I get above minimum dough, but ended up on the air. Earlier personalities came in similar ways. Doing work not directly radio oriented. However there were pockets of resistance here, and there. This must be acknowledged. For many years the Engineering Department, and Department Head gigs were called by all...including the women at the station,..."The White Boys Clubs". Because it was. 'Took a while to kick those doors down. Otherwise back in the day we were all gleeful stoned weirdos doing good radio, and having fun at it too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914769586760504627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-27216236447318211262015-07-02T19:37:37.460-04:002015-07-02T19:37:37.460-04:00Thank you. Kathy's inference of racism manifes...Thank you. Kathy's inference of racism manifesting itself in Sidney's having to enter via a back elevator is outrageous. So is her teaming up with Tony Bates to sell tap water as a cancer cure (Double Helix couldn't even abate thirst). A "good" person would not do many of the things Kathy is guilty of. If she does not know that her on-air blather is pure nonsense, she needs to spend some time in the real world, with eyes open and ears perked.<br /><br />Yes, please do continue...Chris Albertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12056345320709233401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486287910626602438.post-37632015381908833292015-07-02T18:54:26.613-04:002015-07-02T18:54:26.613-04:00A few notes - Kathy is a good woman whose big mist...A few notes - Kathy is a good woman whose big mistake was to fall in love with Samori and Robert Knight who she dated for a while. Knight was a smart man who began to decay quickly through his erratic behavior and destruction of station property. Armand Dimele, who died, was a bon vivant and a collector of vaginas - he was known for his orgies with people like a former producer named Alice. He was an enormous man who had trouble sitting in his chair. Many stories remain to be told about the life of WBAI - to be continued....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com